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US 8,025,014 B2Granted
Railroad freight car
AssigneeNational Steel Car Limited
InventorsJames W. Forbes, Tomasz Bis, Mohammed Al-Kaabi
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A railroad freight car may have a body for carrying lading. The body may be a gondola car body. The car body may include a decking or floor structure, and may include longitudinally extending side beams bordering the floor structure. The connection of the side beams to the floor structure may be may without the use of a dedicated side sill. The car body structure may include cross-bearers and side beam stiffeners that are joined together by structural knees. The car body may also include clean out ports to facilitate cleaning of the lading receptacle.
Claims25
A railroad gondola car comprising:
- a gondola car body carried by railroad car trucks for rolling motion along rail road tracks;
- said gondola car body having a floor and a wall structure standing upwardly of said floor, said floor and said wall structure defining a lading receptacle;
- said floor including at least one floor panel;
- and
- at least one clean out port mounted in said wall structure to permit material to be flushed out of said lading receptacle, said clean out port including a movable access member;
- said wall structure includes a web;
- said at least one port includes an aperture formed through said web of said wall structure;
- and
- a doubler is mounted to said web adjacent to said aperture.
6 more elements
A railroad gondola car comprising:
- a gondola car body carried by railroad car trucks for rolling motion along rail road tracks;
- said gondola car body having a floor and a wall structure standing upwardly of said floor, said floor and said wall structure defining a lading receptacle;
- said floor including at least one floor panel;
- and
- at least one clean out port mounted in said wall structure to permit material to be flushed out of said lading receptacle, said clean out port including a movable access member;
- and
- said at least one port includes a first port, said access member is movable between a first position closing said first port, and a second position in which said first port is open, and said rail road gondola car includes stops positioned to resist the urging of lading against said access member when said access member is in said first position.
4 more elements
A railroad gondola car comprising:
- a gondola car body carried by railroad car trucks for rolling motion along rail road tracks;
- said gondola car body having a floor and a wall structure standing upwardly of said floor, said floor and said wall structure defining a lading receptacle;
- said floor including at least one floor panel;
- and
- at least one clean out port mounted in said wall structure to permit material to be flushed out of said lading receptacle, said clean out port including a movable access member;
- and
- said trucks include first and second trucks, said at least one floor panel is carried over a rail road freight car underframe, said underframe includes first and second main bolsters mounted over said first and second trucks respectively, said at least one port includes a first port, and said first port is longitudinally outboard of said first main bolster.
4 more elements
A railroad gondola car comprising:
- a gondola car body carried by railroad car trucks for rolling motion along rail road tracks;
- said gondola car body having a floor and a wall structure standing upwardly of said floor, said floor and said wall structure defining a lading receptacle;
- said floor including at least one floor panel;
- and
- at least one clean out port mounted in said wall structure to permit material to be flushed out of said lading receptacle, said clean out port including a movable access member;
- and
- said at least one movable access member has a handle mounted thereto, said access member being operable by an operator at trackside, and said railroad gondola car includes detents positioned to retain said at least one movable access member in an open position.
4 more elements
A railroad gondola car comprising:
- an underframe;
- a floor carried upon said underframe;
- a peripheral wall structure standing upwardly of said floor, said floor and said peripheral wall structure co-operating to define a receptacle for lading;
- said wall structure including an upstanding web having an upper region and a lower region;
- said lower region of said web having a first clean out opening therein;
- and
- said railroad gondola car having a first movable access member, said first movable access member being movable between a first position in which said first clean out opening is closed, and a second position in which said first clean out opening is open;
- said underframe includes first and second main bolsters positioned to seat over truck centers of first and second railroad car trucks, said peripheral wall structure includes first and second side walls, and said first clean out opening is formed in said first side wall in a location longitudinally outboard of said first main bolster.
5 more elements
A railroad gondola car comprising:
- an underframe;
- a floor carried upon said underframe;
- a peripheral wall structure standing upwardly of said floor, said floor and said peripheral wall structure co-operating to define a receptacle for lading;
- said wall structure including an upstanding web having an upper region and a lower region;
- said lower region of said web having a first clean out opening therein;
- and
- said railroad gondola car having a first movable access member, said first movable access member being movable between a first position in which said first clean out opening is closed, and a second position in which said first clean out opening is open;
- and
- a doubler is mounted to said web adjacent to said first clean out opening.
6 more elements
A railroad gondola car comprising:
- an underframe;
- a floor carried upon said underframe;
- a peripheral wall structure standing upwardly of said floor, said floor and said peripheral wall structure co-operating to define a receptacle for lading;
- said wall structure including an upstanding web having an upper region and a lower region;
- said lower region of said web having a first clean out opening therein;
- and
- said railroad gondola car having a first movable access member, said first movable access member being movable between a first position in which said first clean out opening is closed, and a second position in which said first clean out opening is open;
- and
- said wall structure includes a first side beam, a second side beam, a first end wall, and a second end wall;
- said first and second side beams run lengthwise along cross-wise spaced apart said side margins of said floor;
- said first and second end walls run cross-wise along lengthwise spaced apart end margins of said floor;
- said first and second side beams and said first and second end walls in combination defining said peripheral wall structure;
- said peripheral wall structure being rectangular and having corner regions;
- said first clean out opening being formed in said first side wall in a first corner region of said peripheral wall structure;
- said first clean out opening being formed in a shear bay panel longitudinally outboard of a main bolster of said underframe;
- and
- said shear bay panel has a doubler mounted thereto adjacent said first clean out opening, said doubler being a framing member extending beside and cross-wise above said first clean out opening, said framing member having an opening formed therein, said opening in said framing member being aligned with said first clean out opening in said web of said wall structure.
14 more elements
A railroad gondola car comprising:
- an underframe;
- a floor carried upon said underframe;
- a peripheral wall structure standing upwardly of said floor, said floor and said peripheral wall structure co-operating to define a receptacle for lading;
- said wall structure including an upstanding web having an upper region and a lower region;
- said lower region of said web having a first clean out opening therein;
- and
- said railroad gondola car having a first movable access member, said first movable access member being movable between a first position in which said first clean out opening is closed, and a second position in which said first clean out opening is open;
- and
- said peripheral wall structure includes a pair of first and second sidewalls running longitudinally along lateral margins of said floor, and first and second end walls running along longitudinal margins of said floor;
- said underframe includes a set of cross-members, said cross-members including cross-bearers;
- said cross-members including at least a first cross-member and a second cross member;
- and
- said clean out opening being located in said web at a longitudinal location lying between the longitudinal locations of said first and second cross-members.
10 more elements
A railroad gondola car comprising:
- an underframe;
- a floor carried upon said underframe;
- a peripheral wall structure standing upwardly of said floor, said floor and said peripheral wall structure co-operating to define a receptacle for lading;
- said wall structure including an upstanding web having an upper region and a lower region;
- said lower region of said web having a first clean out opening therein;
- and
- said railroad gondola car having a first movable access member, said first movable access member being movable between a first position in which said first clean out opening is closed, and a second position in which said first clean out opening is open;
- and any one of:
- (a) said railroad gondola car has a detent for holding said movable member in said first position, and, when in said first position, said movable member is latched in said detents by gravity;
- (b) said railroad gondola car has a detent for holding said movable member in said open position, and in said open position said movable member is latched in position in said detent by gravity;
- and
- (c) said railroad gondola car has a first detent for holding said movable member in said first position, a second detent for holding said movable member in said second position, said movable member being latched in said first and second detents by gravity, and said movable member has a handle by which said movable member can be grasped by an operator standing at trackside, and moved between said first and second positions.
9 more elements
A railroad gondola car comprising:
- an underframe including laterally extending cross-members;
- a floor carried above said cross-members of said underframe, said floor being predominantly flat and horizontal;
- said floor having first and second side margins, said side margins running lengthwise along said gondola car;
- said floor having first and second end margins, said end margins running laterally across said gondola car;
- a peripheral wall structure standing upwardly of said floor, said wall structure including first and second side walls running along said first and second side margins of said floor, and first and second end walls running along said first and second end margins of said floor;
- said floor and said peripheral wall structure co-operating to define a receptacle for lading;
- said wall structure including an upstanding web having an upper region and a lower region;
- said lower region of said web having a first clean out opening therein adjacent to said floor;
- said railroad gondola car having a first movable access member, said first movable access member being movable between a first position in which said first clean out opening is closed, and a second position in which said first clean out opening is open;
- said movable member being positioned to be operable by personnel at trackside;
- and
- said movable member being latched by gravity when placed in each of said respective first and second positions.
9 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.